Magnetic door catch



Nov. 3, 1964 F. SCHLISSEL umcnmc DOOR CATCH Filed Sept. 23, 1960 73 INVEN TOR.

ATTORNEY United States Patent Delaware Filed Sept. 23, 196%, Ser. No.58,105 it) Claims. ((Il. 292-4515) The present invention relates to amagnetic door catch, and it particularly relates to a magnetic doorcatch having a plastic housing.

It is among the objects of the present invention to provide a magneticdoor catch with a plastic housing which may be readily mounted upon theside of a swinging or fixed member of a door or 'jamb, and which will beautomatically adjustable to hold the door in position.

Another object is to provide an inexpensivereadily adjusted and mounteddoor catch combination having a nonmetallic housing which may be readilypositioned in or about a swinging door or jamb, therefore, so as to holdthe door in closed position.

till further objects and advantages will appear in the more detaileddescription set forth below, it being understood, however, that thismore detailed description is given by way of illustration andexplanation only and not by way of limitation, since various changestherein may be made by those skilled in the art without departing fromthe scope and spirit of the present invention.

In accomplishing the above objects according to a preferred embodimentof the present invention, it has been found most suitable to make anenclosure or carrier for the magnetic element which will enable themagnet to be readily placed in position and which will enable the metalelements securely held in position without exerting any stress orshearing force on the plastic housing.

It has been found that the plastic housing is most suitably formed of aflexible polyethylene or similar polymer which is desirably formed intoa U-box construction with three closed sides and with three open sidesso that the cross section of the enclosure takes the form of an invertedU.

Desirably, the interior of the box may be provided with.

a central post projecting transversely into the box which post may beintegral with the plastic housing and loosely fit within the centralopenings within the'plastic plate or wafer, to hold the sarne inposition.

In lieu of such a post or in addition to such a post, it is possible touse recesses or projections in the interior side faces of the legs ofthe box like enclosure which will engage similar recesses or projectionsin the magnetic Wafer and enclosing plates to hold the same in position.

Where the side grooves or recesses are solely depended upon to hold themagnetic wafer in position, the central post may be eliminated.

Desirably, the box with its magnetic Wafer is held in position by feetwhich consist of elongated flanges extending outwardly and transverselyfrom the edges of the box enclosure.

These feet are provided with elongated slots and may extend beyond oneside edge of the box so as to permit an adjustable mounting.

Desirably, the legs may be serrated on both their upper and lower facesto better grip the attachment element whether they will be screws ornails, and in the preferred 3,155,469v Patented Nov. 3, 1954 form of theinvention, there is an elevated peripheral projection around theelongated slot in the feet to enhance the mounting structure.

Desirably, the removal or insertion of the magnetic wafer may be mostconveniently accomplished by bending the legs of the box outwardlyagainst the back or base to permit the magnetic wafer to be removed orinserted.

The side legs may have integral inward tabs or lugs to hold the magneticwafer in position.

In the preferred form, the wafer is enclosed between two steel or othermagnetic metals which will conserve the magnetism thereof.

The magnetic block or wafer itself may be formed of a magnetic alloysuch as Alnico or Ferrite.

In the preferred form, the cross sectional area of the keeper plates oneach side of the magnetic element or wafer are slightly wider and longerthan the magnetic wafer, and they are desirably provided with thegrooves 'or projections which hold the combination of magnetic wafers orkeepers in position.

Where the central post is omitted extending integral into the box fromthe base wall of the plastic member, the keeper plates may be indentedso as to have portions projected into a central opening in the magneticwafer and thus hold the magnet-keeper assembly together.

It is an important feature of the present invention that there may berelative movement between the keepermagnet Wafer assembly, and theplastic enclosure box and to a lesser degree, there may be relativemovement between the keepers and the magnetic wafer itself in thekeeper-magnetic wafer assembly.

This will aid in permitting the door to strike the magnetic elementWithout tending to shear or rupture the plastic housing.

7 It is desirable that the keeper-magnetic wafer assembly project beyondthe box on both sides, and in the preferred assembly, the side edges ofthe box are obliquely disposed so as to extend across the ends of theprojecting keepermagnetic wafer assembly.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, the invention consists ofthe novel construction, combination and arrangement of parts ashereinafter more specifically described and illustrated in theaccompanying drawings, wherein is shown an embodiment of the invention,but it is to be understood that changes, variations and modificationscan be resorted to, which fall within the scope of the claims hereuntoappended.

In the drawings wherein like reference characters denote correspondingparts throughout the several views:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view partly in section showing the swingingdoor and the magnetic stop of the present invention mounted upon a jamb.

FIG. 2 is a bottom view of the assembly of the magnetic wafer andplastic enclosure.

FIG. 3 is a bottom plan view similar to but upon a slightly enlargedscale as compared to FIG. 2 showing side groove and tongue arrangementsfor holding the keepermagnetic wafer unit in position and with a centralpost depending from the base of the plastic box.

FIG. 4 is a bottom plan view similar to FIG. 3 but with the centralintegral plastic post eliminated, and with lugs serving to hold thekeeper-magnetic wafer in position.

FIG. 4a is an alternative construction of the arrange- F in position.ment in the direction 24 so that the closing of the door A 3 ment ofFIG. 4 showing the reversal of the projection and groove of FIG. 4 forholding the keeper-magnetic wafer in position.

FIG. 5 is a transverse partial fragmentary sectional view taken upon theline 5-5 of FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a side sectional view similar to FIG. 5 showing the manner inwhich the keeper-magnetic wafer may be readily removed or inserted withthe plastic box.

Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown a swinging door A having a magnetmetal striker plate B mounted thereon.

Mounted on the jamb C is the magnetic catch unit D having the plasticenclosure box E and the keeper-magnetic wafer assembly F.

Referring particularly to FIGS. 1 and 2, the door or swinging member Ahas the strike plate B mounted thereon by means of the screw or screws10.

The plastic housing E has the base 11, the side legs 12, and theoutstanding feet 13.

The base 11 desirably has the thickest cross section whereas the sidelegs 12 are of thinner cross section.

It will be noted that the side edges 14 and 15 of the legs divergedownwardly so that the side walls are longer adjacent the feet 13. Thefeet 13 have substantial projections 16 beyond the rear edges 15 of thewalls 12, and desirably, the legs are held in position by one or morescrews 13 positioned in elongated slots 17.

The slots 17 commence inside of the forward edges 14 but extend beyondthe rearward edges 15 of the box E.

Desirably, the box E is made of a flexible polyethylene which willpermit the legs 12 to bend outwardly as indicated in FIG. 6 with aslight bowing of the base 11 to permit the wafer assembly F to beremoved or inserted.

The Wafer assembly F projects both forwardly at 19 and rearwardly at 20beyond the edges 14 and 15 of the side walls 12 as shown in FIGS. 1 and2.

In the form shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, there is a relatively wide opening21 extending through the assembly F and receiving the integral post 22.The lower end of the post 22 has the lower outstanding lip or knob 23 tohold the unit The post 22 will permit substantial moveagainst the unit Fwill not tend to shear the post 22.

At the same time the strike plate B will contact the edge '14 of theside wall 12 before the space 21 around the post is taken up.

The magnetic unit itself consists'of the central wafer 25 with thecovering pole or keeper plates 26.

Normally, the striker plate B will strike at its lower corner 27 againstthe oblique edge at 28 so that there will be no strain upon the centralintegral post 22.

In the alternative embodiment of FIG. 3, in addition to the'post 22 andthe lip 23, the grooves 40 of rectangular cross section are positionedin the side walls 41 and they receive the projecting portions 42 in thepole plates 43. The top faces of the feet 44 are desirably elevated at45 around the elongated slots 46 so as to form a better grip for theheads of the screws 18 of FIG. 1.

Desirably, the edges 43 and 47 of the keeper'or pole plates may projectbeyond the edges 48 and 41 of the side walls. Thus the edges 43 of FIG.3 (as well as the edges 19 of FIG. 2) will contact the strike plates Bof FIG. 1

before it strikes the side walls 48.

In the alternative embodiment of FIGS. 4 and 5, the central post 22 ofFIGS. 1 to 3 has been eliminated and inturned legs 66 are employed tohold the. unit M with the bottom pole plate61 in position.

As shown in FIG. 5, each of the pole plates 61 has a central indentation62 which fits in the opening 63 in the central magnetic wafer 64.

The side edges of the pole plate may have the projections 65 to fit intothe recesses 66 in the side walls 67 of the plastic box 68.

Alternatively, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 4a, the recesses 65' areplaced in the side edges of the plates 61, and the side walls of theplastic box will have the projections 66.

In FIG. 4a, the same numerals are shown as in FIG. 4, however, beingprimed.

The base wall 6? will be the thickest wall.

The side feet 70 will have the slots 7d. with the projecting edgeportions 72 which like the projections 45 engage under the heads of thescrews 18.

To remove the unit of FIG. 5, the side legs 66 may be moved or bentoutwardly as indicated by the double arrow 73 whereupon a new unit ofpole plates 61 and magnetic wafer 64 may be inserted.

It is apparent that the applicant has provided a novel plastic boxpreferably of rigid linear polyethylene, but which also may be made ofnylon or polystyrene or cellulose acetate, and which will serve .as anenclosure for a magnetic wafer assembly to serve as a magnetic door stopor latch.

The entire unit is inexpensive, is quite durable, is readily installedand lends itself to ready and convenient installation and operation onthe side of a door or jamb as the case may be.

As many changes could be made in the above magnetic door catch, and manywidely different embodiments of this invention could be made withoutdeparting from the scope of the claims, it is intended that all mattercontained in the above description shall be interpreted as illustrativeand not in a limited sense.

Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of theinvention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, what isclaimed is:

1. A magnetic door latch construction for a door including a swingingdoor element and a fixed jamb element, one of said elements having acontact armature plate and the other element having a catch comprising aplastic box-like enclosure having closed top and side walls and open endand bottom walls, said side walls having edges adjacent the plate, andattachment feet mounted on the lower side edges of said side walls andextending outwardly trannversely and a magnetic wafer mounted movablybetween said walls and projecting beyond the edges of said side walls soas to contact said plate before the plate contacts the edges of the sidewalls, and means formed in said enclosure to retain the wafer inposition, the side edges of said side walls adjacent to and contactingthe plate extending obliquely downwardly from the top wall toward theattachment feet so that the edges thereof adjacent the attachment feetwill contact the plate after a slight movement of the magnetic wafer,said oblique direction being toward the plate away from the top wall andsaid magnetic wafer including a central magnetic element and upper andlower pole pieces and having a central opening extending therethrough.

2. A magnetic door latch construction for a door including a swingingdoor element and a fixed jamb element, one of said elements having acont-act armature plate and the other element having a catch comprisinga plastic box-like enclosure having closed top and side walls and openend and bottom walls, said side walls having edges adjacent the plate,and attachment feet mounted on the lower side edges of said side wallsand extending outwardly transversely and a magnetic wafer mountedmovably between said walls and projecting beyond the edges of said sidewalls so as to contact said plate before the plate contacts the edges ofthe side walls, and means formed in said enclosure to retain the waferin position, said last mentioned means consisting of an integral postextending downwardly from the top wall and the magnetic wafer having acentral opening loosely receiving said post, the side edges of said sidewalls adjacent to and contacting the plate extending obliquelydownwardly from the top wall toward the attachment feet so that theedges thereof adjacent the attachment feet will contact the plate aftera slight movement of the magnetic wafer, said oblique direction beingtoward the plate away from the top wall and said magnetic waferincluding a central magnetic element and upper and lower pole pieces andhaving a central opening extending therethrough.

3. A magnetic door latch construction for a door'including a swingingdoor element and a fixed jamb element, one of said elements having acontact armature plate and the other element having a catch comprising aplastic box-like enclosure having closed top and side walls and open endand bottom walls, said side walls having edges adjacent the plate, andattachment feet mounted on the lower side edges of said side walls andextending outwardly transversely and a magnetic wafer mounted movablybetween said walls and projecting beyond the edges of said side walls soas to contact said plate before the plate contacts the edges of the sidewalls, and means for-med in said enclosure to retain the wafer inposition, said last mentioned means including tongue and groovearrangements on the internal face of said side walls, the side edges ofsaid side walls adjacent to and contacting the plate extending obliquelydownwardly from the top wall toward the attachment feet so that the edes thereof adjacent the attachment feet will contact the plate after aslight movement of the magnetic wafer, said oblique direction beingtoward the plate away from the top wall and said magnetic waterincluding a central magnetic element and upper and lower pole pieces andhaving a central opening extending therethrough.

4. A magnetic door latch construction for a door including a swingingdoor element and a fixed jamb element, one of said elements having acontact armature plate and the other element having a catch comprising aplastic box-like enclosure having closed top and side walls and open endand bottom walls, said side walls having edges adjacent the plate, andattachment feet mounted on the lower side edges of said side walls andextending outwardly transversely and a magnetic wafer mounted movablybetween said walls and projecting beyond the edges of said side walls soas to contact said plate before the plate contacts the edges of the sidewalls, and means formed in said enclosure to retain the water inposition, said side walls being swingable outwardly on said top wall topermit insertion and removal of the magnetic wafer through the openbottom wall, the side edges of said side walls adjacent to andcontacting the plate extending obliquely downwardly from the top walltoward the attachment feet so that the edges thereof adjacent theattachment feet will contact the plate after a slight movement of themagnetic wafer, said oblique di- I rection being toward the plate awayfrom the top wall and said magnetic wafer including a central magneticelement and upper and lower pole pieces and having a central openingextending therethrough.

5. A magnetic door latch construction for a door including a swingingdoor element and a fixed janrb element, one of said elements having acontact armature plate and the other element having a catch comprising aplastic box-like enclosure having closed top and side walls and open endand bottom walls, said side walls having edges adjacent the plate, andattachment feet mounted on the lower side edges of said side walls andextending outwardly transversely and a magnetic wafer mounted movablybetween said walls and projecting beyond the edges of said side walls soas to contact said plate before the plate cont-acts the edges of theside walls, said side walls having lateral projecting portion to holdsaid magnetic wafer in position and pole plates enclosing each side ofsaid magnetic wafer and means extending through said pole platesengaging the central portion of said magnetic wafer, the side edges ofsaid side walls adjamnt to and contacting the plate extending obliquelydownwardly from the top wall toward the attachment feet so that theedges thereof adjacent the attachment feet will contact the plate aftera slight movement of the magnetic wafer, said oblique direction beingtoward the plate away from the top wall and said magnetic waferincluding a central magnetic element and upper and lower 6 pole piecesand having a central opening extending therethrough.

6. A magnetic door latch construction for a door including a swingingdoor element and a fixed jamb element, one of said elements having acontact armature plate and the other element having a catch comprising aplastic box-like enclosure having closed top and side walls and open endand bottom walls, said side walls having edges adjacent the plate, andattachment feet mounted on the lower side edges of said side walls andextending outwardly transversely and a magnetic wafer mounted movablybetween said walls and projecting beyond the edges of said side walls soas to contact said plate before the plate contacts the edges of the sidewalls, and means formed in said enclosure to retain the water inposition, said contact plate acting to strike the edges of the sidewalls of said box-like enclosure, and said side edges being obliquelydisposed downwardly toward the attachment feet so as to extend obliquelyacross and along the outer edges of the magnetic wafer, and said contactelement striking the edges of the side walls adjacent the attachmentfeet immediately after contact with the magnetic water so as toeliminate shearing tendency on the attachment of the magnetic waferbetween the walls.

7. A plastic housed magnetic door latch for a swinging door element anda fixed element, said door element having an armature strike plate andsaid fixed element carrying a m agnet plastic-housing box combination,said combination including an integral molded flexible and bendableplastic housing box construction with integral top and side walls and anopen bottom and an Open con tact end and an open opposite non-contactend, said side walls having side edges at the open contact andnon-contact ends and said box having integral outwardly extending sideflanges parallel to the top wall with mounting openings extendingparallelly to the side walls and a central wafer laminate locatedparallel to the top wall and transverse to the side walls enclosedwithin said box with a central magnet plate and a parallel metal keeperplate held closely together in said laminate with the laminate havingopposite side edges parallel to the side walls of the box and open endedges at the contact and non-contact ends of the box, holding means tohold the laminate in position within the box and anti-shearing means toprevent shearing of the plastic box construction upon contact of theplate and the combination, said anti-shearing means including obliqueedges on the ends of the side walls of the plastic box housing extendingobliquely toward the contact with the plate from the top wall toward theside flanges.

8. The latch of claim 7, said holding means including central tongue andgroove connections between the lami nate and the interior of the sidewalls.

9. The latch of claim 7, said holding means consisting of an integralpost with an enlarged end. i

10. A plastic housed magnetic door latch for a swinging door element anda fixed element, said door element having an armature strike plate andsaid fixed element carrying a magnet-plastic-housing box combination,said combination including an integral molded flexible and bendableplastic housing box construction with integral top and side walls and anopen bottom and an open contact end and an open opposite non-contactend, said side walls having side edges at the open contact andnoncontact ends and said box having integral outwardly extending sideflanges parallel to the top wall with mounting openings extendingparallelly to the side walls and a central wafer laminate locatedparallel to the top wall and transverse to the side walls enclosedwithin said box with a central magnet plate and a parallel metal keeperplate held closely together in said laminate with the lamin-ate havingopposite side edges parallel to the side walls of the box and extendingbeyond the open end edges at the contact and non-contact ends of thebox, said magnet plate and said keeper plate having central alignedcircular openings and having the same length parallel to the side Wallsand the central magnet having a shorter Width transverse to the sideWalls and a central plastic post having a heat peened lower endextending through aligned openings integral with said top wall, thelower end of said post terminating above the upper faces of the sideflanges, said post serving to hold the laminate in position within thebox and anti-shearing means to prevent shearing of the plastic boxconstruction upon contact of the plate and the combination, saidanti-shearing 10 means including oblique edges on the ends of the sidewalls of the plastic box housing extending obliquely toward the contactwith the plate from the top wall toward the side flanges and saidoutwardly extending side flanges having upper elevated gripping portionsto enable better grip for attachment screws.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,690,348 Teetor Sept. 28, 1954 2,690,349 Teetor Sept. 28, 19542,914,818 Pritzert Dec. 1, 1959 2,935,352 Heppner May 3, 1960 2,935,353Loe'b May 3, 1960 2,943,881 Duhm July 5, 1960 2,962,318 Teetor Nov. 29,1960 3,003,802 Wilson Oct. 10, 1961

1. A MAGNETIC DOOR LATCH CONSTRICTION FOR A DOOR INCLUDING A SWINGINGDOOR ELEMENT AND A FIXED JAMB ELEMENT, ONE OF SAID ELEMENTS HAVING ACONTACT ARMATURE PLATE AND THE OTHER ELEMENT HAVING A CATCH COMPRISING APLASTIC BOX-LIKE ENCLOSURE HAVING CLOSED TOP AND SIDE WALLS AND OPEN ENDAND BOTTOM WALLS, SAID SIDE WALLS HAVING EDGES ADJACENT THE PLATE, ANDATTACHMENT FEET MOUNTED ON THE LOWER SIDE EDGES OF SAID SIDE WALLS ANDEXTENDING INWARDLY TRANNVERSELY AND A MAGNETIC WAFER MOUNTED MOVABLYBETWEEN SAID WALLS AND PROJECTING BEYOND THE EDGES OF SAID WALLS SO ASTO CONTACT SAID PLATE BEFORE THE PLATE CONTACTS THE EDGES OF THE SIDEWALLS, AND MEANS FORMED IN SAID ENCLOSURE TO RETAIN THE WAFER INPOSITION, THE SIDE EDGES OF SAID SIDE WALLS ADJACENT TO AND CONTACTINGTHE PLATE EXTENDING OBLIQUELY DOWNWARDLY FROM THE TOP WALL TOWARD THEATTACHMENT FEET SO THAT THE EDGES THEREOF ADJACENT THE ATTACHMENT FEETWILL CONTACT THE PLATE AFTER A SLIGHT MOVEMENT OF THE MAGNETIC WAFER,SAID OBLIQUE DIRECTION BEING TOWARD THE PLATE AWAY FROM THE TOP WALL ANDSAID MAGNETIC WAFER INCLUDING A CENTRAL MAGNETIC ELEMENT AND UPPER ANDLOWER POLE PIECES AND HAVING A CENTRAL OPENING EXTENDING THERETHROUGH.